Firecrackers
Firecrackers were the nickname for a series of armored vehicles that appeared throughout the 26th Century. The vehicles were crudely made with whatever cannons and parts small rebel groups could obtain. While quality varied, the vehicles were always prone to erupting in flames with, many times, a single penetrating hit on the vehicle. Despite their flaws, many small rebel groups, and even some larger ones, such as the Victorian Independent State, used the vehicles, while groups with better black market connections, such as the , tended to use military grade vehicles instead. Due to the vehicles' tendency to explode in combat, in tandem with the fact that rebel crews that were forced to abandon their vehicles would either destroy them or strip them down for parts, no Firecracker survived in even the . History Genesis The beginning of the type of vehicle that would eventually become the Firecracker came in , when the aiding of rebel forces became public after the rebellion on . With the shifting resources away from the CMA, and the rooting out rebel plants within the organization, as well as keeping a watch on any potential sympathizers supplying the Insurrection, it became increasingly difficult for rebel groups to obtain military vehicles to supply their revolts. As a result, as had been done before, secessionist groups armed civilian vehicles, however, the vehicles were woefully underarmed and unarmored. The idea of the vehicle came from a young engineer and rebel artilleryman, Albert Tills, a member of the Draco III Independence League, who devised the idea of an armored vehicle that would be used to carry the group's several anti tank guns, which in reality were modified in . While initially developing the vehicle to help carry the guns through difficult terrain, as well as be a force multiplier in combat with machine guns mounted on the hull, Mathurin eventually decided instead to turn the vehicle into a tank. While the leaders of the group were skeptical of the idea's merit, they agreed that if the vehicle was successful, it would be an effective aid against the UNSC. Over the next several months, the materials were assembled for it. Shipyards were raided for hull plates, machine parts were bartered for or taken by force from farmers on the frontier, with the ensemble being built in what was ostensibly a boat and vehicle repair shop on the coast of the , although production was forced to stop when the shop began to have business during the fishing or vacation season. The vehicle was finally completed in February , with its first use being only weeks later, with Mathurin acting as the vehicle commander, partially of his own accord, and also that of his commanders. Taking part in an ambush of a convoy, the vehicle proved itself able to keep its crew relatively safe from small arms fire and take out enemy troops, as well as having the unintended effect of drawing fire from rebel infantry towards itself. While the vehicle only lasted two years before being disabled by an gun firing a shell at the vehicle, which destroyed one of its treads. Being under attack, Mathurin instead ordered the vehicle to be burned. When the fire reached the ammunition stowage, the vehicle went up in a column of flame. The sight of the explosion caused Mathurin to instead discourage his commanders from making any more of the vehicles, citing the very real possibility of it exploding from any hit. Use 'Ingenious Machines' and 'Flaming Deathtraps' Despite the disabling of the original vehicle, the story of it had found its way to other rebel groups, who began making their own. While the larger cells of the such as the Victorian Independent State had contacts within the CMA, allowing them to acquire military grade vehicles, albeit outdated ones, therefore having little need to make the impromptu tanks, those who were less well equipped saw it as a way to even the tables with the UNSC's forces. While most suffered the same fate as the original, being destroyed by their crews after being disabled by mechanical failure or enemy action, many more suffered the fate that Mathurin had feared. During the uprising on in , multiple impromptu tanks were used against the colonial government. While they were nearly unstoppable against the local , when UNSC troops were called in, the vehicles became deathtraps. It was during this action that they earned the moniker of 'Firecrackers'. The term became coined by an crewman after a single burst of fire from the tank's forty millimeter autocannons penetrated one of the vehicles, and set off the ammunition stowage, killing the crew and knocking the vehicle out instantaneously. Just as quickly as word of the success of the vehicles had spread, so did the horror stories of crewmembers who had managed to survive hits on their tanks. As a result, the vehicles disappeared from the ranks of rebel groups just as suddenly as they had appeared, having been stripped down for parts or destroyed. and Post War However, with the outbreak of the , and the total absorbing of the CMA by the UNSC, the vehicle type found itself in service again with rebel troops. With many vehicles being sent off to fight the alien menace and being destroyed, most planetary units on rebellion ravaged worlds were forced to make do with what they had. Most stripped down their vehicles for parts to use on the same type, which, in concert with the fact the vast majority of armored units were in frontline service, made it extremely difficult for even units like the Victorian Independent State to procure any more than a handful of tanks, and even more difficult to maintain them. Due to the lower quality of garrisons, with most units needed to fight the , and lessons learned from the previous uses, the vehicles enjoyed more success, but were still prone to the same problems that had plagued the type before. The vehicles armed with tank caliber main guns also became much fewer in number due to the lack of tanks that were not being used fighting the Covenant, and the fact that it was very difficult to obtain the cannons from supply convoys unless the group had a dedicated warship. While black market dealers did exist, mostly early in the war with CMA personnel selling large caliber cannons, taking advantage of the chaos, as the conflict dragged on, it became almost impossible for the rebels to obtain them. These vehicles continued to serve up until the mid-2550's, when, in the wake of the Human-Covenant War, the black market for military equipment exploded. However, the UNSC reclamation campaigns once again showed the weaknesses of the vehicle type. On , while the armored units did not see action against the pro-UNSC uprising on the planet in , they did fight against the UNSC invasion that same year. Fighting in the Battle of Agley against UNSC armored units, those vehicles that directly fought UNSC armored units were effectively slaughtered, only damaging or destroying a few enemy tanks in each engagements, at the cost of almost all of their vehicles being destroyed or disabled. However, in surprise attacks against motorized units, the vehicles were still a very potent threat. After abandoning their vehicles, the rebel crews would destroy them, or, as was described in A Tanker's Story, would booby trap them for anyone curious enough to search inside. By 2560, the vehicle type had effectively ceased to exist. No full vehicle continued to exist even in museums, and photos of the type were few and difficult to find. Variants Mark 1 Mobile Gun Carrier Category:Safe Havens Category:Vehicles Category:Insurrection